Tshabalala lauds opponents’ bravery despite big win

Mamelodi Sundowns Ladies coach Jerry Tshabalala has lauded his opponents’ “bravery despite the lack of competitive games under their belt.”

This is after Banyana Ba Style humiliated Costa Do Sol 8-1 in the Group A of the Hollywoodbets COSAFA Women’s Champions League zonal qualifier at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium.

The Mozambiquian side are debutants in the competition and ‘Kappa’ reckons that had they had competitive games before their Sunday’s game, it would have been a different story.

“The plan was to dominate the ball and create goal-scoring chances early on and we did that. Our strikers were alert and converted their chances, but we could have done much more with the chances that we created,” Tshabalala told Downs’ media.  

“Nevertheless, we did well against a team that we had little knowledge of, and I must praise my team for their solid tempo from start to finish.

“Overall, our opponents showed their bravery despite the lack of competitive games under their belt. Had they had competitive games before this tie, we could have been telling a different story now.”

The red-hot Brazilians will face Botswana’s Double Action Ladies who crashed out in the semifinals last year.

Meanwhile, Melinda Kgadiete who netted a brace on the day and also walked away with the Woman of the Match accolade added: “I am so happy with our performance because we created so many chances. We showed our superiority in the contest right from the blast of the whistle. Although I felt we could have scored more, but that is an issue we intend to address in our subsequent fixtures. The goals made me happy, but I am more excited with the overall performance of our team.”

The winner of the zonal qualifiers will cruise their way into the 2022 CAF Women’s Champions League finals set to place in Morocco later this year.

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